


The West Conspiracy

by orsumfenix



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Betrayal, Family Crime, Gen, the first chaps were written agggeess ago so hopefully the writing quality will improve
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-25
Updated: 2016-04-14
Packaged: 2018-04-28 03:21:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5075866
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orsumfenix/pseuds/orsumfenix
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The team’s latest mission reveals the Wests to be one of the most influential, manipulative and overall dangerous families in the world. That includes Kid Flash.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> i wrote this so long ago omg

Betrayal is a funny thing. It causes you to wonder how good of a person you are, whether you belong wherever you are, whether you deserve the life you’ve been blessed with. It’s not a good feeling, and an even worse one when you have to look in the eyes of the very people you are betraying whilst doing so.

This means that it’s especially hard for one Wallace Rudolph West to smash the crowbar into the back of Artemis Lian Crock’s head, especially if he would have to look into her warm brown eyes at the same time. So it’s easier, in a way, to do it while she’s turned away, the blonde ponytail facing him.

The bar makes a horrible sound as it collides with her head, Artemis’ body going limp and falling to the floor immediately. Wally takes a moment to breathe deeply and stare in slight shock at what he’s just done, the hair of the girl he’s just knocked out already tinged with some blood red liquid. Oh god, he’s made her bleed. _That_ wasn’t supposed to happen. He can see it shining on the crowbar under the light of the dodgy bulb overhead as it flickers, almost as though knowing what’s about to go down.

It only takes seconds (but seconds feel like forever to him) for one of the other members to respond.

 _Wally?_ a panicked voice echoes in his head – Miss Martian. She sounds worried, which is understandable. Artemis will have just dropped out the link, after all. _Are you and Artemis okay? I can’t sense her mind anymore._

It’s this panicked declaration that manages to bring him out of his own little world of guilt, hoping that M’Gann won’t be able to sense his remorse. She’s good at knowing emotions, too good, and too often has he felt guilt only to see the Martian staring in confusion at him. She’s never called him out on it, but it’s been a main worry of his that she’d eventually go to the Justice League about the emotions of his she has picked up on.

Still – there’ll be no point in hiding soon. Today’s the day, after all.

 _We’re both fine,_ he responds, while systematically removing all of Artemis’ weapons – her bows and arrows, the knife he knows she keeps in her left boot. He feels slightly awkward, wiggling the shoe off and tipping it upside down, but, sure enough, the small sharp object comes tumbling up and he snatches it from the cold, hard ground. _I don’t know why you can’t sense her. She’s definitely awake._

There’s silence over the mental link for a couple seconds, Wally holding his breath the entire time. He just hopes M’Gann won’t somehow realise that he’s lying, or any of the others. It’s hard to lie to them every day, especially Robin, who is doubtless wondering what could have caused Artemis to have dropped off the link. The others can all hear their conversation, he’s sure, but none of them seem to find it interesting enough to join in, and they can’t risk trying to contact Artemis over the comms to check if she’s okay.

Much to Wally’s relief, M’Gann chooses to believe him.

_Well… if you’re **sure** … _

_Of course I’m sure, beautiful,_ he insists, speeding out of the room with Artemis unconscious inside and locking the door behind him. _The two of us’ll head over to you now. There’s nothing here, anyway._

Except that there is something here. There’s a whole stash of Velocity 9 packed into storage crates underground, right beneath this very warehouse, ready for the Wests to collect and distribute. There are people who work for his family outside, ready and waiting for his call to come and collect the members of his team, the ones he’s about to betray – not that they know that. That is, after all, the whole point of betrayal.

But still – even though this is what his whole life has been dedicated towards, _even though_ he’s been preparing for this moment ever since he was ten, it still doesn’t seem _real_.

Artemis’ weapons are stashed in a box close to him, and he hopes that, should she wake up and somehow get out, she won’t find them.

If she does, well, he’ll have to fight her. And as much as he doesn’t want to fight them, to even hurt them in the _slightest_ , it is sickening easy to use the same crowbar to smack down on Kaldur’s head, who is facing the other way and staring at a doorway for some odd reason. Aqualad goes down in a similar way to Artemis, the blood already staining his light blonde hair, body falling to the floor before he can fight back in any way, and Wally just hopes he hasn’t killed him.

He grabs the weapons he knows Kaldur has, feels bad about knowing that he has them (because that implies _trust_ , something he’s betraying) and throws them far, far behind him.

“Wally?” M’Gann’s voice asks, and he looks up just in time to realise that her voice is not in his head. Then he notices the confusion written on her face, the way she’s standing in the doorway, and _oh right_ , Kaldur was waiting for her to emerge. “What are you…?” She trails off as her eyes fall on the Atlantean’s limp form, then they flicker between that and the crowbar Wally’s still holding in his hands. _Right._ He’d forgotten about that.

“This is not what it looks like,” he promises, even though it’s _exactly_ what it looks like and both of them know it. He can feel her distress through the link, and just prays that she won’t tell the others of his betrayal before he can knock her out.

Luckily for him, M’Gann is so shocked by the sight in front of her that she barely reacts, hardly at all, to him darting forwards and slamming the same crowbar (stained with the blood of two, soon to be another, and _oh god_ he better not be hitting too hard) on the top of her vibrant red hair. Her eyes go blank, still, and he thinks that it’s _so much harder_ when you have to look them in the eye.

Her body falls in what seems to be like slow motion, but the whole world is that way for him. She’s the first one he tries to catch, sliding his arms underneath her still form and gently laying her on the hard floor below. Wally knows that she’ll be one of the most hurt by this, but also the one that might ever be able to forgive him and, somehow, that makes it worse.

“I’m sorry,” he murmurs, feeling numb both from the shock of how cold he’s being and the sudden absence of the others in his mind. Then he raises himself up, staring down and M’Gann and just _knowing_ that she’s too sweet and too kind to ever carry needless weapons on her, and hopes that she won’t wake up before he leaves.

Walking away is harder than it should be, and he has to force himself not to look back at either still body, reminding himself to just carry on with the mission the way he’s supposed to.

Next is Robin.

It’s vitally important that he gets rid of Robin next, because he has a certain something in his utility belt that Wally needs to take down Superboy, and Super boy is _Superboy_ and _miles_ stronger than Wally could ever hope to be. It’s just luck that Dick ( _Robin_ , he reminds himself) has exactly what he’s after and, despite Conner and Rob currently being paired up, he’s fast enough to zoom in and grab the Kryptonite before either of them can do anything.

And that’s exactly what he does.

Conner has fast enough perceptions that he notices Wally running beside Robin and slamming the crowbar into his ribs. Said speedster feels horrible the entire time, knowing that this is his _best friend_ that he’s injuring and the crowbar was probably horribly hard, but there’s no time for remorse now.

It only takes a couple of seconds to yank the Kryptonite from inside Robin’s utility belt and dash over to Conner, dodging the clone’s swipe and hurling the glowing green rock at him. Superboy falls, and it’s disorientating since Conner’s meant to be strong, the strongest of all them, and yet here he is, lying defeated on the floor.

“Wally,” Conner says with pure confusion, sounding so vulnerable that Wally actually stops and stares for a couple seconds. “Why?”

Wally hesitates, because he can’t explain why, they’d never understand, and he doesn’t want to answer so he brings the crowbar down on Conner.

\--

Only a couple minutes later (though that seems like _so long_ to a speedster) a bunch of people come flooding in, at the head of them his father. Rudolph West looks grimly satisfied in his suit, smiling under his moustache at the sight of several of Wally’s incapacitated team members.

“You did good, son,” Rudy informs, and Wally can’t help but _beam_ with pride.

That doesn’t stop him from feeling guilty in the smallest part of his heart.


	2. Chapter 2

“Oh, look, it’s Kid _Traitor_ ,” Artemis drawls as he enters her cell, and it takes all of his willpower not to flinch. Instead, he keeps walking and puts her tray full of food down on the floor by the bed. “Oh, you’ve got nothing to say to that, huh? Guess you found it _funny_ to slam a crowbar into the back of my head.”

There is a sneer in her voice as she glares, and her eyes are dark but Wally can see the pain hidden deep inside of them.

Artemis’ cell is pretty basic, due to her not having abilities, but security has been upgraded. If there’s one thing Wally has learned since this team started, it’s never to underestimate. He’s also learned never to provoke Artemis when she’s in a bad mood, but she carries on speaking anyway.

“I guess it was probably easy for you -”

“Look,” Wally abruptly says, cutting her off. Artemis watches tensely for whatever he’s about to say, her jaw clenched harshly. “You’re hurt, and I get that, I do. You’ve been betrayed before, and I know that you have abandonment issues…” He trails off, not really sure where he was going with this, but Artemis speaks for the both of them.

“Oh, you ‘get it’, do you?!” she demands, fury in her voice and fire in her eyes. “You know, it’s all well and good to be the traitor, it’s okay for _you_ , but haven’t you ever thought of the people you’d be betraying?”

 _All the time_ ,stands poised at the tip of his tongue, but he moves on without saying it – because he has other cells to deliver to.

Or, at least, that’s the reason he tells himself.

\--

“Kid Flash,” Aqualad greets as said speedster enters the room, ever the polite one. Wally nods slightly, but doesn’t speak, still too shaken about his encounter with Artemis.

 _Haven’t you ever thought of the people you’d be betraying?_ Her words dance around in his head and make him feel ill. Kaldur seems to notice this, and Wally’s honestly surprised that he isn’t being more aggressive.

“Kid Flash, are you well?” the Atlantean asks, and it’s like he’s saying ‘Kid Flash’ as much as possible in order to make Wally feel guilty – he’s done too much bad to keep that good title. Kaldur would never do that, but Wally’s mind certainly would, so instead of replying he sends his friend – his _teammate_ – his _ex_ -teammate a shaky smile and walks out of the door.

\--

“Why?” Conner asks, though it’s more like a statement. He’s facing the floor, which Wally is glad for.

Conner’s cell is surrounded by Kryptonite, which Wally regrets but knows that it’s a measure that needed to be taken. Conner is easily the strongest, and if he got out then the others would follow in minutes; seconds, even.

“Because I had to,” Wally responds carefully, gently placing the tray down on the floor a little distance away. Conner doesn’t look like that clears anything up – if anything, he looks more confused, which Wally _gets_ , he really does.

Then Conner raises his head to look him in the eyes, and Wally finds that he has to avoid that child-like gaze.

“But _why_ ,” Superboy presses. “You – we _trusted_ you. You’re our _friend_. So why?”

Wally hesitates before answering, but his mouth has opened to start he finds that he can’t stop.

“Because I was ordered to,” he admits quietly, before turning on his heel, ignoring Conner’s gaze boring into his back, and walking out.

\--

M’Gann doesn’t say anything as he enters. She sits on her bed, knees brought up to her chin, staring at something on the floor.

Wally places the tray gently on the floor near to her gaze, hoping that she won’t miss it. He got her cookies especially – ones that aren’t even burnt. She doesn’t deserve to be locked up like this. Doesn’t deserve an inhibitor collar to block all of her powers.

M'Gann only speaks as he’s on his way out, close to walking out the door.

“Did you hate us this whole time?” her voice says from behind him. _I never could,_ he wants to say, but he can’t. He can’t tell her that he never hated them – he _liked_ them, _loved_ them, even, like a family. He can’t tell her that to do this is hurting him just as much as it’s hurting them.

He can’t tell her, so he walks out without saying a word.

\--

It’s easier to refer to him as Robin instead of Dick – more impersonal somehow, like it isn’t his best friend that he’s just betrayed. Wally has left this cell until the end because he knows that, of all of them, Robin will be the hardest to face.

“Why now?” is all the thirteen-year-old asks once Wally’s walked in with the usual tray. Said speedster places it on the floor much in the same way that he did the others, straightening up and try desperately to avoid looking at his friend’s face.

“Why now what?” he asks flippantly, because straight-up anger he can deal with; it’s the colder, ignorant fury that gets to him.

Robin turns his head slightly towards him, though neither of them manage to muster up the courage to look straight at the other one.

“I saw your dad,” Robin mentions casually, as though they are talking about the weather, though really they’re discussing something much less trivial. “So, I assume you’re working for him. Probably a family thing. You’ve lived with him all your life. It’s natural to assume that you’ve been planning this for… a while.”

That hesitation in his voice is the first sign of discomfort that Robin has expressed, but Wally is much worse at covering up his feelings and whenever he tries he generally tends to screw it up massively.

“You really were trained by the World’s Greatest Detective,” he comments lightly, though the statement is anything but. Wally’s trying to be funny, but the situation really isn’t and Robin’s not laughing.

“Why now?” Robin asks again, and Wally can’t help but sigh.

“It just… that’s the way it worked out,” he informs, desperately fighting the urge to just speed out of there and never come back. His legs are already vibrating to do so, he notes vaguely.

Robin snorts, and opens his mouth to say something else – probably something snarky, and Wally wishes that he could hear that cackle that he has grown so horribly familiar with. Before the younger male can say whatever it is, though, the redhead’s instincts win out and he shoots out of there.

\--

Wally’s family has a base, and it’d be horribly clichéd if it wasn’t true. He wanders about a little, trying to clear his head, trying to dispel the image of his captured teammates from his mind, but it doesn’t quite seem to be working.

Luckily, a figure appears by his side, preventing him from having to think too deeply. Wally barely glances to the side before knowing who it is.

“Hi Linda,” he greets gloomily, scuffing his trainer on the hard concrete floor. “What are you doing here?”

Linda is unperturbed by his miserable attitude – she knows how hard betraying his team has affected him, and she’s the type of person who just takes that type of thing in her stride. Wally’s found a good friend in Linda Park, one that doesn’t put up with any type of crap and knows how to get the job done.

“Your dad wants to see you,” she informs, managing to sound both sympathetic and formal at once. “Something about… you know what, I don’t even know. He’ll tell you, I guess.”

Wally just nods and runs off at superspeed, blowing Linda’s clothes. He knows that it annoys her when he does that, but right now he’s in the mood for a little fun. Something to take his mind off the people being kept prisoner in the cells.

When he reaches his dad’s office, the older man is discussing something with someone – Wally’s uncle, Daniel West. As he walks out, he catches sight of his nephew and ruffles his hair, making Wally try to dodge out of the way using superspeed. His uncle just grins and leaves.

“What was Uncle Danny doing here?” Wally asks his dad after several moments of silence, and the older man just sighs and rubs his forehead.

“He wants to go ahead with the rest of the plan ahead of schedule,” Rudy informs, smiling grimly. “But I shot him down on that one.” Wally nods and smiles, too, his relief genuine.

For as long as he can remember, Wally West has been hearing about ‘the plan’. A plan that he would have a big part. He’s already done part of it; get inside the Justice League’s circle of acquaintances, betray the team, etc. The rest will happen soon, but not just yet.

Wally doesn’t know if he’d be able to handle it if it started now. The stress of his recent betrayal combined with the pressure of helping out with the plan would probably be too much for him to bear.

“Linda said you wanted to see me,” Wally prompts after several more moments of silence, still standing awkwardly inside the doorframe. Rudy looks up and gestures for him to come closer. The speedster doesn’t really want to, but he does so anyway, wandering over and sitting down on a chair opposite his dad.

“Yes, that’s right,” the older West confirms, moustache moving with him as he talks. Rudy steeples his fingers together, looking serious. “You mentioned that several members of your team are not from this world – different physiologies, I presume?” He waits for Wally to nod before smiling, satisfied. “Excellent. Your grandfather wants to get the testing started straight away, but I think that we should allow them a little time to recover from their shock. I asked you here to get your opinion on this.”

Wally hates knowing that the testing is coming anyway, but he’ll do everything he can to delay it.

“I think,” he says slowly, trying to ignore the fluttering in his heart. “That you’re right. We should wait a little while.”

Rudy accepts this with ease, though Wally doesn’t. He’s glad that he’s delayed it – but now what? He’s just as fascinated by these things as his family is, and he thinks that if it were anyone but his friends that they were talking about testing on then he’d probably want to watch; but the fact is that it _will_ be his friends that they’ll be testing on, and he doesn’t know if he’ll even be able to stand knowing that it’s happening.

\--

At the core of things, Wally’s family are scientists, and he is no different. Sure, Rudy is more of a businessman and Iris is better off as a reporter, but that doesn’t change the fact that they are both working towards the same goal, and it is the same goal that all of them are working towards.

_“Science is knowledge. Knowledge is understanding. Understanding is control.”_

The West family motto. The one that has been drilled into Wally’s head ever since he was small, the one that he lives by.

The one that’s gotten him stuck in this awful situation.

One the one hand, there’s his team. On the other, his family.

And he has no idea what he’s supposed to do.


	3. Chapter 3

For two days, things continue in the same manner. Artemis says cruel words that sting, and even as Wally moves as fast as possible to avoid them he understands her. Where she’s coming from. How she feels.

M’Gann and Conner are both confused and silent, and Wally’s not sure if Artemis’ words or their quiet hurts more.

Robin stares, sometimes opening his mouth to speak then shutting it almost immediately. Maybe his reaction hurts the most, after all. Because, once upon a time (a few days ago) he was Wally’s best friend. And Robin probably thinks that it wasn’t real, but it _was_ , it’s just that Wally can’t think of any way to tell him and be believed.

They’re all almost unbearable, except for Kaldur.

Wally doesn’t know _why_ , exactly, Kaldur seems to be overlooking that Wally is a traitor. In fact, Kaldur seems more friendly and kind than _ever_ , if that’s even possible, asking how he’s doing and if the latest episodes of his favourite TV show have been up to standard. Wally’s not sure why Kaldur’s being this way, but it makes everything somewhat tolerable.

“I haven’t actually been keeping up with my show recently,” Wally admits on the third day, gently putting Kaldur’s tray down on the cell floor. He’s not sure if any of the team have noticed or not – no one says anything – but he always does his best to get their favourite foods for their meals. “Can’t concentrate.”

“You must rest,” Kaldur instructs, and Wally blinks. “Overworking yourself benefits no one but your enemies.”

Doesn’t he get that _he’s_ Wally’s enemy now?

“I’m fine,” he assures, though it’s a lie and both of them know it. “I’m not – overworking myself, or anything. I’m just. I’m fine.”

Kaldur raises a brow, but doesn’t call him on the lie. Wally gestures his hand towards the tray.

“Are you gonna eat?”

Kaldur just stares for a moment, before leaning down and picking up the bowl of hot soup and the plate of bread. He holds the plate near to himself, but extends the bowl towards Wally.

“Eat with me.”

Wally feels his eyebrows lift, but he accepts the bowl and leans down to grab the spoon, trying to behave like his thoughts aren’t moving at a million miles an hour. He probably fails. He was always good at acting before, but now it seems like all his skills have failed him.

(The same way he’s failed the team.)

“Have you been sleeping?” Kaldur asks, gently ripping into his bread. Wally shrugs lightly, jostling the soup and watching as it laps the edges of the bowl. “It’s important to get enough rest, especially for someone such as yourself who exercises heavily.”

“Kaldur,” Wally says, tongue stumbling over the word. “It’s fine.”

Kaldur inclines his head.

“Are you going to eat?”

Wally’s hand clenches around the spoon, fingers turning white.

“Geez, what do you think?” he mutters, eyes flitting about. “You think I’m gonna have _such_ an appetite after having helped _kidnap my friends?!_ ”

Kaldur doesn’t look taken aback by Wally’s outburst – he simply nods slowly, and holds the bread out.

“Perhaps you would prefer bread to soup.”

Wally’s head snaps up, eyes blazing, as he bites out, “Why.”

Kaldur blinks, holding himself calmly.

“Bread is more solid –”

The bowl slips out of Wally’s hand, crashing against the floor in slow motion as hot soup flies everywhere, trailing in rivulets along the cold tiles.

“ _Why_ are you _being so nice to me?!_ ” he demands, standing up so fast his head spins. Kaldur watches with big eyes. “I’ve – I have _lied_ to you, for _years_ , and now I’ve kidnapped and _imprisoned_ you and in a week -” He trails off, mind stumbling over the words. _In a week, they’re going to start experimenting on you_.

The room is silent, but tense. Kaldur moves slowly, as though Wally’s a cornered animal that he’s trying not to spook. The comparison is enough to make Wally want to let out a bitter laugh, but he forces himself to keep it inside.

Carefully, Kaldur places the remainder of the bread back on the tray, before standing himself.

“Despite your actions as of late,” he says, calm but intimidating. “You are my friend. I was under the impression that you felt that same. Please tell me if I’m mistaken.”

And then Wally _does_ let out that bitter laugh, stumbling a couple steps backward.

“So that’s what this is, huh? This is _your_ way of getting back at me? With Artemis it’s snide comments, with the others it’s not saying anything at all, but with _you_ it’s showing just how _nice_ you are so that I look even _worse_ by comparison! Gee, thanks, Kaldur, what a lovely way of looking out for your _friend_ -”

“That’s not what I meant,” Kaldur interrupts, looking genuinely distressed. The expression on his face is enough to make Wally pause in his rant, watching with bated breath.

Kaldur breathes out slowly, rubbing a hand over his face.

“I am not trying to make you feel bad,” he informs after a second, and it’s like all the air gets sucked out of Wally’s lungs. “Just the opposite. When I say that you are my friend, I mean it, Kid Flash. I do not want to see you suffering.”

“I’ll probably see all you suffering, in like a week.” The words roll off of Wally’s tongue without his consent, like so many things, but he makes no effort to pull them back. “My family – you don’t know what they’re _planning_.”

Kaldur watches with sad eyes. He looks like Bambi.

“I can guess.”

Silence.

“I’ve got to go,” Wally blurts out, taking more steps backwards. He waves a hand aimlessly behind, blurring with superspeed. “I’ve got stuff to – do. People to see, places to go… You know how it is, being part of a criminal family.”

“Not really,” Kaldur says, but it’s a light-hearted tease. “May I suggest spending time with some friends outside of this whole situation? It may be a good way to relax.”

Wally snorts bitterly, not answering as he leaves.

Nevertheless, he takes the advice to heart.

He goes to see Roy.

\--

Wally climbs in the window, because it’s fun and because he can. He makes a ton of noise, though, so he’s not even surprised when he flops in to find Roy aiming an arrow at him.

Somewhat more of a surprise is the fact that Roy is shirtless. Wally yelps on instinct and puts his hands above his face, splitting his fingers and peeking through a little because _damn_.

“Dude!” he exclaims. “What are you doing?”

Roy lets out something of a growl, though he lowers his bow.

“What am _I_ doing?” Roy asks, looking pretty angry. It’s funnier than it probably should be, all things considering. “Wally, _you’re_ the one who just crawled through my window like a creep.”

Wally lets his hands drop raising an eyebrow and lifting himself up.

“If I’d knocked, would you have let me in?”

“Probably not.”

“Well, then.” Wally spreads his arms, eyes flitting about the messiness of the apartment. “Is it any surprise that I used the window?”

“Um, yeah.” Roy’s face actually looks slightly… shocked. Huh. Weird, coming from him. “Wally, you’re _missing_.”

Wally lets out a wince, rubbing the back of his head.

“Yeah, I _know_.”

“Not just you,” Roy states, and he’s _still got his top off_. “The whole team. And your parents. The League is freaking out. They think you’ve been kidnapped.”

Wally looks towards the ceiling, just so that he won’t have to face Roy.

“Can you put a shirt on? Please? I’m only sixteen, you know.”

Roy snorts.

“What, you’re sixteen so you can’t handle seeing someone’s chest?”

“I _can_ handle it, it’s just _awkward_.”

“Everything you touch turns to awkward.”

“Wow. Rude.”

“It’s true.”

Nevertheless, there’s a shuffle, and when Wally looks back down Roy is wearing a crumpled-looking shirt. The bow is still in his hand, though, which is… worrying, even if it’s not pointed towards Wally.

“So,” Roy says, all narrowed eyes and straight back. “Where have you been?”

Wally groans, leaning back on his heels.

“Can we _not_ talk about this, maybe? I kind of came here to get away from things.”

“I don’t care _what_ you came here for,” Roy says, a low growl in his throat. “For all I care, you can leave.”

“You sound like a villain, you know that, right?”

“What I _know_ is that you’re supposed to be missing.”

“Okay, so how about you just _ignore_ that little fact, do me a solid and just… hang out for a bit.” Wally spreads his arms, grinning falsely. “Then afterwards I can leave and go back to being missing and no one ever has to know that I was here. It’s perfect! A win-win situation, Roy. You don’t have to be so frowny about it.”

Roy scowls, and suddenly the bow is back to being in Wally’s face.

“Answer me, or I shoot.”

Wally moves his head to the side at superspeed, raising a brow at Roy.

“You wouldn’t.”

“Try me.”

Wally runs, then, until he’s standing behind Roy, arms crossed.

“Scratch that – you _couldn’t_.”

Roy whirls around but Wally is too fast, becoming a blur until he’s in the attached kitchen, opening the fridge and leaning over to look inside. He lets out a little hum.

“Why don’t you have any chicken?” he asks, turning around. Roy still has the bow aimed at him, but it’s half-hearted at best. “I would have thought you’d be all over stuff like that. Your fridge disappoints me, Roy.”

“Wally,” is all Roy says, walking towards him. “Why. Are you. Here?”

“To _relax_ ,” Wally states, rolling his eyes and shutting the fridge. “I’ve had kind of a stressful few days, and someone said that I should hang out with a friend to blow off steam. And I thought, hey, Roy’s usually down for whatever. Usually he’s not a massive drag. Was I wrong about that?”

“’Kind of a stressful few days’,” Roy repeats instead of answering, eyes narrowing with even more suspicion. “Did you get kidnapped or not?”

 _I kind of did the kidnapping_.

“Hey, guess what we should _not_ talk about?” Wally leans back against the fridge, the coolness reaching through his shirt and onto his back. “That.”

“Guess what we shouldn’t ignore,” Roy counters, arrow still aimed at Wally’s chest. “I could kill you with this, you know.”

Wally raises an unimpressed eyebrow.

“Really.”

“Well, no,” Roy admits. His face hardens as he warns, “It’d hurt a lot, though.”

Wally waves an arm.

“I could take it. Besides, Roy, we both know you won’t fire.”

Roy’s scowl gets even… scowl _ier_ , if that’s possible.

“I might.”

“But you _won’t_ , right?” Wally presses, grinning, and it’s one of the first smiles in days that isn’t hollow and false. Kaldur was right to suggest he come here. This – this bantering with Roy – it’s normal. It’s _easy_. And Roy is all too simple to deflect. “Come on, put the bow down, Red. We can watch a shitty comedy and eat pizza and hang out. You don’t have to think about all this kidnapping business, and neither do I.” He tilts his head, still smiling. “Like I told you, it’s a win-win.”

Sure enough, Roy puts the bow back down again, and Wally releases the breath he didn’t know he’d been holding.

“I’ll hang out with you,” Roy says, holding a hand up to cut Wally off before he says anything else. “ _If_ you explain what’s going on afterwards.”

Wally steps forward energetically.

“Deal,” he lies. Looks like those acting skills of his _haven’t_ deserted him, after all. “Dibs on the comfy part of the couch.”

And for the first time in a few days, he relaxes.


End file.
